Mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran Jesse Taylor captured ultimate redemption last night (Fri., July 7, 2017) at TUF 25 Finale live on FOX Sports 1 from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, when he submitted Dhiego Lima via rear-naked choke to claim Ultimate Fighter rights. The 34-year-old journeyman looked absolutely dominant as he controlled the Brazilian from the opening bell before finding his opening for a finish early into the second round.

Taylor’s efforts were admirable, especially considering he was facing a guy in Lima who has already fought under the bright lights of the Octagon. Still, “JT Money” was not surprised by the outcome of his suffocating efforts.

“I think it was a pretty perfect fight,” Taylor said during a backstage interview with UFC’s Megan Olivi (shown above). “I do what I always do. But I think it goes to say that I keep going, I’m a grinder. I’m not going to stop. Again, it’s still kind of surreal to me. Kind of feels like a dream. Maybe it’s the punch to the head that makes it feel like a dream.

“There’s nothing that could stop me. Dhiego would have had to kill me or severely knock me out to stop me.”

Remember, Taylor punched his ticket to compete in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter Season 7 before drunkenly kicking the window out of a limousine door and getting booted from the reality show entirely. The submission expert was not going to let another opportunity slip through his hands when he found out about Ultimate Fighter: Redemption.

“Once I found out about the show it was my show to win,” Taylor said. “The story was mine and I lived up to it, thank God. I wanted this more than anything in the world. I truly did.”

With his first UFC victory officially in the books, Taylor is hoping to take a little break to spend some time with his family. But once that mini hiatus is over, the newly-crowned TUF winner is aiming to quickly climb the welterweight ladder towards UFC gold.

“I do want a little time off,” Taylor explained. “Saying that, I called this the end of one journey and the beginning of a next. I want to make a run for it. I think 170 has a lot of sharks, but at the same time I think there’s no star power. I think it could be open for the taking if I have a couple of more good performances. I could very well get the belt. That’s my goal; to take it for the full ride and go for that belt.”

World Series of Fighting (WSOF) 32: “Moraes vs. Hill 2″ comes to Xfinity Arena in Everett, Wash., later this month (Sat., July 30, 2016), featuring a rematch between former Featherweight champion Lance Palmer against Alexandre Almeida. In addition, Bantamweight standouts Josh “The Gentleman” Hill will get a second crack at Marlon Moraes in the NBC Sports Network-televised main event of the evening.

Speaking of Bantamweights, WSOF pulled a bit of a surprise by announcing the signing of Jesse Brock, a fighter last seen submitting Olly Bradstreet via rear-naked choke at Bellator 155. Brock (22-8) turned in a one-sided performance at that fight that clearly turned heads, taking down Bradstreet with impunity and angling for submissions relentlessly until his exhausted and badly beaten opponent tapped out in round three.

WSOF President Ray Sefo is clearly pleased with his new recruit:

“We are very excited to welcome Jesse Brock to our stable of world-class athletes. Jesse is a true performer who has taken on some of the best fighters in his weight class, and he has clearly earned the opportunity to contend in our bantamweight division.”

Brock, 34, will likely not debut at the aforementioned WSOF 32 — his first fight with the promotion yet to be announced, Moraes could clearly use a few more contenders — he is unbeaten since 2011 and has already made three successful defenses of his 135-pound title, as well as winning a non-title fight in that span when his opponent missed weight.

Two new entrants have been added to Battlegrounds MMA’s one-night, eight-man tournament field, as one-time WSOF title challenger Jesse Taylor and veteran Joe Ray have replaced Dennis Hallman and Chris Honeycutt in the welterweight bracket, promotion officials announced on Tuesday.

“We are thrilled to bring two more highly accomplished competitors like Jesse and Joe into the tournament fold, and are excited by the increased number of potential outcomes that their addition creates for this incredible, one-night event,” BattleGrounds MMA President Kenny Monday said in statement.

A 31-year-old former finalist of The Ultimate Fighter 7, Taylor (27-10) recently saw his seven-fight win streak snapped via first-round submission at the hands of David Branch last June in a contest to decide the inaugural WSOF middleweight champion.

Strikeforce veteran Ray (11-3), meanwhile, enters the tournament field riding high on a career-best six-fight win streak that stretches back to late-2011. The 29-year-old defeated ONE FC regular Ole Laursen via third-round guillotine choke in his most recent outing last October.

A lightweight tilt between Kevin Lee and Jesse Ronson has been added to the TUF 19 Finale at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on July 6, according to UFC officials Thursday night.

Lee (7-1) suffered his first career loss recently at UFC 169. He lost via unanimous decision to Al Iaquinta.

Ronson (13-4) is also searching for his first UFC win. He has lost to Michael Richard Cunha dos Prazares via split decision at UFC 165 and via split decision to Francisco Trinaldo at UFC Fight Night 36 this past February.